£18k water bill....
Discussion
Seeking PH'er advice as usual. Thank you in advance...!
We (actually a cricket club) used about 160m3 pa of water from October 2016 to October 2021. Meter readings were taken annually by the water supplier, not us because the meter is sited under an inspection cover on a public highway where access is difficult/dangerous.
From October 2021 to October 2024 no readings were taken. We received and paid bills based on estimated readings consistent with the previous 5 years settled usage pattern, 160m3 pa.
Meter was read at the end of October 2024 for the first time in over 3 years. Metered consumption has apparently increased from 160m3 pa to 2500m3 pa. To reiterate:
5 years from October 2016 to October 2021: Total supplied 800m3, 160m3 pa
3 years from October 2021 to October 2024: Total supplied 7500, 2500m3 pa
Meter was read again last week, and metered consumption has reduced to the previously established rate of 160m3.
Water supplier asserts aggressively that the only possible explanation is a leak (now evidently fixed...) at some point between October 2021 and October 2024. There is no evidence of such a leak on our premises, nor have any repairs to pipework or appliances been made.
Water company wants £18k for the water! We say we haven't used the water and there's been no leak within our boundaries/premises. They say there must have been a leak and we are liable.
Can a leak of 7000m3 of water occur without anyone becoming aware? Can such a leak repair itself?
Has anyone on PH experienced a similar situation? If so, how was it resolved? We are following carefully the retailers escalation process, but clearly getting nowhere.
Thoughts, observations, questions all welcomed. Once again, thank you in advance.
We (actually a cricket club) used about 160m3 pa of water from October 2016 to October 2021. Meter readings were taken annually by the water supplier, not us because the meter is sited under an inspection cover on a public highway where access is difficult/dangerous.
From October 2021 to October 2024 no readings were taken. We received and paid bills based on estimated readings consistent with the previous 5 years settled usage pattern, 160m3 pa.
Meter was read at the end of October 2024 for the first time in over 3 years. Metered consumption has apparently increased from 160m3 pa to 2500m3 pa. To reiterate:
5 years from October 2016 to October 2021: Total supplied 800m3, 160m3 pa
3 years from October 2021 to October 2024: Total supplied 7500, 2500m3 pa
Meter was read again last week, and metered consumption has reduced to the previously established rate of 160m3.
Water supplier asserts aggressively that the only possible explanation is a leak (now evidently fixed...) at some point between October 2021 and October 2024. There is no evidence of such a leak on our premises, nor have any repairs to pipework or appliances been made.
Water company wants £18k for the water! We say we haven't used the water and there's been no leak within our boundaries/premises. They say there must have been a leak and we are liable.
Can a leak of 7000m3 of water occur without anyone becoming aware? Can such a leak repair itself?
Has anyone on PH experienced a similar situation? If so, how was it resolved? We are following carefully the retailers escalation process, but clearly getting nowhere.
Thoughts, observations, questions all welcomed. Once again, thank you in advance.
So you think a mechanical meter went through a phase of running fast, then went back to reading correctly?
Most credible explanations might be someone was either being wasteful or a neighbour was stealing from you?
The extra water is about 6 tons a day. That is a lot. Nearly 4.5 litres a minute?
A leak like that would be causing a sink hole or something?
Most credible explanations might be someone was either being wasteful or a neighbour was stealing from you?
The extra water is about 6 tons a day. That is a lot. Nearly 4.5 litres a minute?
A leak like that would be causing a sink hole or something?
Fight it.
My mother and step father (both in their 80s) went from (IIRC) well under 100 litres a day to over 1,000 litres a day and Severn Trent water tried to bill them for it.
The water company eventually “found” that there was a decent leak at the stopcock under the footpath (although it took several, increasingly irate phone calls and the threat of the ombudsman to get them to see sense).
My mother and step father (both in their 80s) went from (IIRC) well under 100 litres a day to over 1,000 litres a day and Severn Trent water tried to bill them for it.
The water company eventually “found” that there was a decent leak at the stopcock under the footpath (although it took several, increasingly irate phone calls and the threat of the ombudsman to get them to see sense).
B'stard Child said:
What were the actual meter readings in order??
Is it possible that one of them was a typo??
I've not known a self healing water leak (unless it's a hard water area)
Yep.Is it possible that one of them was a typo??
I've not known a self healing water leak (unless it's a hard water area)
We got a letter from Thames Water last week with a massive projected bill for our house. Turns out there was a typo on the reading (a 7 instead of a 1), or it was miss-read. We sent them an accurate reading yesterday.
What gets me, is if it was a correct reading the most likely scenario is we had a massive leak. In which case they should have been contacting us urgently, not sending a letter several months later.
I had something similar when I moved house just over 3 years ago.
I got a bill for nearly 10k.
I told them to FRO and after months of threatening letters it obviously got passed to someone sensible and they waived it. No explanation or anything.
I then moved into a property that was registered as a business and asked to swap to residential tariff. Apparently I needed to speak to the business people who said I needed to speak to the residential people. Did this three times and gave up.
I've written to them and heard nothing. Pure incompetence.
I got a bill for nearly 10k.
I told them to FRO and after months of threatening letters it obviously got passed to someone sensible and they waived it. No explanation or anything.
I then moved into a property that was registered as a business and asked to swap to residential tariff. Apparently I needed to speak to the business people who said I needed to speak to the residential people. Did this three times and gave up.
I've written to them and heard nothing. Pure incompetence.
John D. said:
B'stard Child said:
What were the actual meter readings in order??
Is it possible that one of them was a typo??
I've not known a self healing water leak (unless it's a hard water area)
Yep.Is it possible that one of them was a typo??
I've not known a self healing water leak (unless it's a hard water area)
We got a letter from Thames Water last week with a massive projected bill for our house. Turns out there was a typo on the reading (a 7 instead of a 1), or it was miss-read. We sent them an accurate reading yesterday.
What gets me, is if it was a correct reading the most likely scenario is we had a massive leak. In which case they should have been contacting us urgently, not sending a letter several months later.
| Date | Reading | Usage | Avg Daily | Days | L/Day | LPP (Per Person) | Comments |
| 29/07/2013 | 150 | 88000 | 230 | ||||
| 29/07/2014 | 229 | 79000 | 220 | 365 | 216 | 108 | |
| 29/07/2015 | 304 | 75000 | 210 | 365 | 205 | 103 | |
| 12/08/2016 | 385 | 81000 | 210 | 380 | 213 | 107 | Water Softener |
| 31/07/2017 | 473 | 88000 | 250 | 353 | 249 | 125 | |
| 14/08/2018 | 561 | 88000 | 230 | 379 | 232 | 116 | |
| 31/07/2019 | 637 | 76000 | 220 | 351 | 217 | 108 | |
| 18/08/2020 | 761 | 124000 | 320 | 384 | 323 | 161 | Garden |
| 16/08/2021 | 873 | 112000 | 310 | 363 | 309 | 154 | Garden |
| 17/08/2022 | 959 | 86000 | 230 | 366 | 235 | 117 | |
| 04/08/2023 | 1083 | 124000 | 350 | 352 | 352 | 176 | Leaky Cistern |
| 16/08/2024 | 1156 | 73000 | 190 | 378 | 193 | 97 |
OutInTheShed said:
The extra water is about 6 tons a day. That is a lot. Nearly 4.5 litres a minute?
A leak like that would be causing a sink hole or something?
I understand, that is can be suppressing how much water and soak into the ground undetected, but I cant really comment on whether 6 cubic meters a day could get lost or not. Soil type? A leak like that would be causing a sink hole or something?
Has there been any change to staffing and or watering reschimes? Do you water the pitch at all?
dhutch said:
OutInTheShed said:
The extra water is about 6 tons a day. That is a lot. Nearly 4.5 litres a minute?
A leak like that would be causing a sink hole or something?
I understand, that is can be suppressing how much water and soak into the ground undetected, but I cant really comment on whether 6 cubic meters a day could get lost or not. Soil type? A leak like that would be causing a sink hole or something?
Has there been any change to staffing and or watering reschimes? Do you water the pitch at all?
I'm not sure on soil type, but will investigate.
OP I’ve had this before - turned out to be a leak within the meter box.
If the water company have said there was a leak that was repaired then they should be able to apply a leak allowance, usually by taking two separate readings a few weeks apart and then working out what your consumption should have been.
Good luck!
If the water company have said there was a leak that was repaired then they should be able to apply a leak allowance, usually by taking two separate readings a few weeks apart and then working out what your consumption should have been.
Good luck!
This is probably not helpful/relevant, but bear with me as a 'removing all possibilities' exercise.
We had our water company at home contact us regarding a suspected leak, and luckily they told us pretty early on, so it wasn't a huge bill. We have our hot water heated via solar means and a small valve within the system had basically given up. The result was the system continuously cycling water at quite a significant rate, hence the alarm bells going off at Southern Water.
We didn't even notice, as there was no evidence of a leak/water anywhere/damage, and where the system sits is in an airing type cupboard with quite a thick door, so you couldn't even hear it. I believe it was some kind of pressure overflow or similar (it was a while ago, don't remember all the details) but resulted in a big jump in water usage without us even being aware. I don't remember how much exactly, but I do recall thinking that there's no way that volume could just go missing; my main concern was that it wasn't somehow escaping under the house and causing an issue with the foundation in any way.
Just mentioning the above, in case something seemingly innocuous has occurred in a similar fashion and not been noticed, and since been repaired/resolved during a routine service etc?
We had our water company at home contact us regarding a suspected leak, and luckily they told us pretty early on, so it wasn't a huge bill. We have our hot water heated via solar means and a small valve within the system had basically given up. The result was the system continuously cycling water at quite a significant rate, hence the alarm bells going off at Southern Water.
We didn't even notice, as there was no evidence of a leak/water anywhere/damage, and where the system sits is in an airing type cupboard with quite a thick door, so you couldn't even hear it. I believe it was some kind of pressure overflow or similar (it was a while ago, don't remember all the details) but resulted in a big jump in water usage without us even being aware. I don't remember how much exactly, but I do recall thinking that there's no way that volume could just go missing; my main concern was that it wasn't somehow escaping under the house and causing an issue with the foundation in any way.
Just mentioning the above, in case something seemingly innocuous has occurred in a similar fashion and not been noticed, and since been repaired/resolved during a routine service etc?
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